


keeping the stars apart

by littledust



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Asteroid M, Canon Disabled Character, Huddling For Warmth, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:59:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5258252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littledust/pseuds/littledust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not unusual for Erik to turn up at the school and whisk Charles away in the night. When Charles wakes up on a spaceship with no heat, he regrets not asking Erik for more details beforehand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	keeping the stars apart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [garrideb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/garrideb/gifts).



> Happy Secret Mutant! I couldn't resist combining your prompt about Asteroid M with the prompt about huddling for warmth. The title is from the classic "I carry your heart with me" by e.e. cummings.

When a cluster of pebbles rattled against his window, Charles put down his book with a sigh. He had a stack of papers to grade, and someone had to ensure that Logan didn't actually kill his students while administering his version of a final exam. Erik did pick the _most_ inconvenient times for his little getaways.

Erik's face appeared in his bedroom window. He looked rather like the boy in the television show Kitty liked about the girl who explained things, except older and hovering in the air through magnetic field manipulation. So, not very like a television show from the nineties at all.

"Charles!" Erik called in a hoarse whisper. "I need to show you something!"

"What, in the middle of the night?" Charles asked. Really, he didn't get to see Erik often enough, but it wouldn't do to let Erik think he could just whisk Charles away whenever he wanted. Romantic as the thought was, Charles had a school to run and a superhero team to advise. At least after the last kidnapping he'd learned to always keep a bag packed.

Erik waved a hand, which served as a dismissive gesture and also opened the windows. "You weren't sleeping, anyway. Come on, I know you don't care about the time when it comes to a good scientific discovery." He floated inside and, with another gesture, pulled Charles's "in case of Magneto" bag out from under his bed.

"You wore the helmet just so you could make it a surprise, didn't you?" Charles asked with a sigh, but pushed away the covers. He wrapped himself in his bathrobe, then maneuvered himself into his wheelchair. "What sort of scientific experiments have you been conducting?" In general, Erik's commitment to the scientific approach was less than admirable, since he would just manipulate any number of variables until he finally achieved the result that he wanted. His record keeping was abominable and most of Erik's so-called experiments boiled down to "bash it with a piece of metal."

Charles loved the man, he did, but he had some doubts about the merits of this scientific discovery.

"You'll like it," Erik insisted. "This is less a series of experiments, more of a unique phenomenon that has to be seen. You're always saying that you want to get away from civilization for a little peace and quiet."

"Well," Charles said, conceding the point with a nod. A telepath in a houseful of teenagers often wished for a little serenity. In the midst of finals week and with Logan's final looming on the horizon, their stress levels were at an all-time high, and their hormones were always at an all-time high. "Tell me we're going somewhere warm, at least."

"It's warm sometimes," Erik said, which should have been Charles's cue to make further inquiry. Instead, tired of small talk, eager for a nap followed by some alone time with Erik, Charles let Erik levitate his wheelchair onto the ship he brought along, which looked suspiciously like a Blackbird knockoff. Let Erik have his little surprise, as long as he let Charles get some sleep before they arrived at their destination.

When Charles woke up, he was in outer space.

More importantly, he was _incredibly cold._

"I can explain," Erik said, seeing Charles open his mouth. At least he was no longer wearing his helmet, so Charles could tell there was genuine guilt to accompany his words. "I found an exceptionally magnetic asteroid. I'm thinking of building a base here. It's just that I haven't yet and the heating system on the ship isn't quite… working right."

"Erik," Charles said. He sounded remarkably calm, considering the circumstances. "You do realize that space is cold, don't you? I'd rather not die of hypothermia on some godforsaken rock."

"It's _not_ just a rock," Erik replied. The look he directed out the window was almost _fond_ , damn him. "And we're not going to die. The heating system is functioning enough to keep us warmer than our surroundings, it's just going to be uncomfortable while I get the propulsion system working again."

"The engines aren't working, either? Did you fly us here in a weather balloon?" Charles was gracious enough to hold back his final comment, which was, _That's what comes of ripping off the Blackbird._

Erik glared at him. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not the one who decided to take a quick jaunt to an asteroid without warning my companion," Charles said waspishly. In addition to the cold, the first pangs of hunger were making themselves known. "How far away from Earth are we by now? Far enough that it will take years to go back? Or have you added teleportation to your repertoire?"

"I've altered the course of this asteroid to make it geosynchronous. Nobody's noticed it yet because I've hidden it," Erik said. He folded his arms as Charles raised his eyebrows. "Don't give me that _magnetism doesn't work that way_ look, Charles. There are fields I know more about than you."

"Magnetic fields," Charles replied, unable to resist the pun. Erik deserved it.

The ship was quiet for a few minutes as Erik went back to tinkering with the control panel, which had an alarming number of blinking red lights. There were some green ones as well, which Charles presumed signified that a few important things were working, like the ship's air filtration system. Without the fire of irritation to warm him, the cold was more noticeable. Or was it just getting colder by the second? Now his breath fogged the air in little white clouds.

Miserable, Charles huddled deeper into his bathrobe. He wanted a blanket, a sandwich, and a hot cup of tea. No, while he was dreaming, he wanted a margarita, a beach, and a tropical climate. Why couldn't Erik have a secret tropical island? Did the man have no concept of a vacation?

Seeing Erik's brow furrowed in concentration, hearing his faint curses as he tried to get the ship's heater working, softened Charles's heart in spite of himself. Considering Erik's history, he had probably never been on a vacation in his life. Perhaps Charles should kidnap _him_ next time and show him how to relax.

Of course, they had to survive this adventure first.

"Perhaps you had better leave it alone for a few minutes," Charles suggested delicately after Erik's tenth try sent a shower of sparks flying from the control panel. "Often solutions are more apparent after a bit of rest."

"I'm not one of your students, Charles," Erik said, but walked over and sat beside Charles anyway. He gestured and the metal seat Charles sat in extended wide enough for two. Erik pulled Charles against him and started rubbing his arms. "You're freezing. You Brits and your delicate constitutions."

Charles closed his eyes, sinking into the embrace. Normally he was the warm one, Erik huddling close to him on cold nights. Well, everyone got cold sometimes, particularly when they were underfed and tired and stranded on an asteroid. "My hair kept me warm once upon a time. There used to be days I could leave the house without a hat."

Erik kissed the top of his head. "Nonsense. There's no hat that could fit over your swollen ego."

"That implies the ego is kept in the head," Charles said, unable to help the lascivious grin. His students would be scandalized; Erik just snorted. "And while we're discussing sartorial choices, put that cape to some actual use and pull it over us." He had never been able to fathom why Erik, the man who wore exquisitely tailored suits, insisted on such an ugly outfit for his Magneto persona.

"I'll do you one better," Erik said. He tucked his cape around them both like a blanket, then made a beckoning gesture. A large basket dragged itself over, tugged by metal buckles, and opened itself. Inside were small sandwiches, neatly sliced into triangles, some small, sweet apples, and a large thermos.

As if on cue, the Earth itself tilted into view from the windows of the ship, gleaming huge and blue and beautiful in space.

"Romantic," Charles accused, helping himself to one of the sandwiches. Erik had strong opinions on what constituted a good meal, so the sandwiches were bound to be delicious.

Erik shrugged and poured him some tea from the thermos, heated with a small extension of his powers. "You always did bring out my sentimental side."

They ate their sandwiches and drank their tea in the perfect peace that Erik had promised back at the mansion. Looking down at Earth, Charles let his immediate obligations recede from his mind: the end of term approaching, the gifts to wrap for the children spending Christmas at the school, and the small, selfish part of himself wondering when he would next see Erik. So far away from everything else, it was easy for Charles to imagine them removed from all their ideological disagreements, all the years and battle scars that spanned their first, desperate meeting in the ocean. Even that seemed small; Charles could barely make out where Miami must be beneath a streak of clouds.

"I love you," Charles said, suddenly needing to fill the empty air. Erik said nothing, but tilted his head against Charles's and let a low pulse of warmth roll through Charles's mind. "And your crazed desire to show me your space rock," Charles added.

Erik let out a low chuckle. "Now that you've seen the view, I don't think you can complain."

"You know me better than that." Despite the warm cup of tea in his hands, the cape serving as a blanket, and Erik pressed against his side, Charles still felt cold. He was too old to have a robust circulation. He could feel it in Erik, too; his ear was cold when Charles nipped at it playfully. They weren't too old for _that_ , at least.

"I don't think we'd enjoy taking off all our clothes with no heating," Erik said with a deep sigh.

"Take it as your inspiration to get things working," Charles said. He rummaged under the pile of sandwiches and found the brownies. Erik did have a hidden sweet tooth, for all his protestations that he was above such things. He bit into one and almost moaned with pleasure. Erik was more of a cook than a baker, but evidently he'd discovered the perfect brownie recipe somewhere down the line.

Erik looked smug. "Good, aren't they?"

"They almost make up for being stranded on an asteroid with no heat," Charles said, and batted his eyelashes.

Erik took the hint and stretched out his hand, eyes closed. The control panel opened again and wires began to rearrange themselves, metal pieces rattling as they shifted position. Charles leaned his head on Erik's shoulder, touched that he was performing his repairs without leaving Charles's side. It was as good as a brownie, feeling the quiet hum of Erik's powers at work. At work _fixing_ , not destroying, and with the glow of Earthlight as a bonus.

_It should always be like this,_ Charles said, letting his contentment seep into Erik. _Together, working our way through ludicrous situations._

Erik sent him another wash of affection, but tinged with regret that it couldn't stay like that forever, not really. He was always better at seeing endings than Charles, who preferred to focus on beginnings.

"We could retire here," Charles said aloud. "I'm sure it would be lovely if there were an atmosphere. And trees. Maybe a beach. Can you manage a beach?"

Erik rolled his eyes again, despite the little spark in his mind at _we could retire here._ "No, but I can manage a functional ship." He waved his hand--for show, Charles suspected--and all the lights on the control panel turned green. Deeper into the ship, the engines hummed back to life. "Do you still want to go back to your school?"

Charles pushed the cloak off his torso experimentally. The air was no longer cold enough to bite into his bones, and growing warmer with each passing second. "I've reconsidered," he said. "First, I'm going to finish this delicious brownie. Then I believe you said something about taking off all our clothes."

"Presumptuous ass," Erik said, but his eyes were on Charles's mouth as he took a slow, delicate nibble of brownie.

"I love you too, darling," Charles said. He ate his brownie as slowly as possible, savoring the flavor and Erik's attention alike. When he kissed Erik, the jolt of pleasure was just as sharp as it had been that first night in 1963. This, at least, never changed: stolen hours in which they could argue and eat and make love without hurting one another. The wounds only opened when they had to say goodbye. But not yet, not yet.

Behind them, the Earth still hung huge and beautiful between the stars, lighting the way back.


End file.
